Walmart and ten other leading Feeding America corporate partners are joining forces to raise awareness of the issue of hunger and award $3 million to Feeding America food banks and their partner agencies to help fight hunger in their local communities.
The partners included in the Walmart "Fighting Hunger Together" campaign, include: Campbell's Soup, ConAgra Foods, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, General Mills, Kraft Foods Group, Kellogg Company, Mondelez International, Nestle USA, PepsiCo and Unilever.
"We are grateful and appreciative that we have such dedicated partners in helping to fight hunger in our communities," said Bob Aiken, president and CEO of Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief charity. "Hunger affects every community in the United States, and we know it takes the commitment of the public, government and our corporate partners to help make sure that everyone in America has access to healthy and nutritious food."
According to the USDA, more than 50 million Americans live in food insecure households, and nearly 17 million of those impacted are children. To address this issue, Walmart will deliver $3 million in grants for hunger-relief programs and generate the equivalent of up to 35 million meals* for local Feeding America food banks and their partner agencies across the United States.
The public can help join the fight by visiting Walmart's Facebook page and casting a vote for a Feeding America food bank or partner agency in local communities across the country that are eligible for a grant. Voting will take place throughout the month of April and winners will be announced beginning in May.
Feeding America, through its network of more than 200 food banks and 61,000 partner agencies, helps provide food to 37 million Americans each year, including nearly 14 million children and 3 million seniors.
The "Fighting Hunger Together" initiative is part of Walmart and the Walmart Foundation's $2 billion commitment through 2015 to fight hunger. As a part of this commitment, Walmart and its foundation pledged to donate more than 1.1 billion pounds of food from Walmart stores, distribution centers and Sam's Club locations, valued at $1.75 billion, as well as $250 million in grants to support hunger-relief organizations.
*$1=8 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local food banks.
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About Feeding America
Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of more than 200 food banks, 21 statewide food bank associations, and over 60,000 partner agencies, food pantries and meal programs, we helped provide 5.3 billion meals to tens of millions of people in need last year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; brings attention to the social and systemic barriers that contribute to food insecurity in our nation; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
